Cloud9 Open the Six-Team LCS Playoffs on Saturday With Three Worlds Places at Stake and No Eliminations Until Eighteen September
The LCS Summer 2026 playoffs begin on 12 September with Cloud9 against Shopify Rebellion, and the top three teams will qualify for Worlds.
The LCS Summer 2026 playoffs begin on 12 September with Cloud9 against Shopify Rebellion, and the six-team double-elimination bracket will decide North America's three places at this year's League of Legends World Championship.
Sentinels play FlyQuest on 13 September. Lyon and Team Liquid have byes to the upper-bracket semi-finals on 19 and 20 September. Because the bracket is double elimination, no team can be knocked out this weekend; the first elimination match, in lower-bracket round one, is on 18 September.
The lower-bracket quarter-final follows on 25 September and the lower-bracket semi-final on 26 September, with the upper-bracket final on 27 September. The lower-bracket final is on 3 October and the grand final on 4 October. Matches are scheduled for 21:00 BST.
The Summer Split began on 25 July with eight teams playing a single round robin of best-of-three series. Riot has again used an expanded lower bracket designed to give teams more room to recover, following the Summer 2024 model.
Worlds is being held in North America this year. Ten teams have already qualified: Hanwha Life Esports, Gen.G, T1 and Dplus KIA from the LCK, Bilibili Gaming from the LPL, G2 Esports and Karmine Corp from the LEC, and Team Secret Whales, CTBC Flying Oyster and MVK Esports from the LCP. The LEC's third place is still to be settled, with the LEC Summer Finals taking place in Nice from 18 to 20 September, while three LPL places and both CBLOL places also remain open.